Oklahoma is investigating how Art Briles wound up on the field following the 18th-ranked Sooners' 28-11 win over SMU on Saturday night.
“I was just as disappointed as many of our fans when I learned of the postgame situation tonight. It shouldn’t have happened and it was my expectation it never would, based on boundaries we previously set," Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione said after the game. "I’ve addressed it with the appropriate staff.”
Who brought Briles onto the field and why was clear. The disgraced ex-Baylor coach is OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby's father-in-law, and Lebby said after the game he brought Briles onto the field.
“That’s my father-in-law,” Lebby said in a press conference. “He’s my father-in-law. That’s the grandfather to my two kids. So he was down with our entire family after the game, well after the game.”
OU head coach Brent Venables was also asked about Briles's presence after the game, and it sounds as if both he and Castiglione had or planned to have a pointed discussion with Lebby shortly after he left the field.
"I was made aware of it, just before I came in here, that he was (on the field)," Venables told reporters. "That's being dealt with."
Briles has not coached in college football since his 2016 firing from Baylor. He spent a season as the head coach at Mount Vernon (Texas) High School and has coached two seasons in Italy, but attempts to hire him by the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Grambling and Southern Miss were nixed due to internal and external backlash.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.